Car door operating and locking mechanism



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 W. W. RHODES. GAR DOOR OPERATING ANDLOCKING MBGHANISM. No. 584,240. Patented June 8,1897

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

W. W. RHODES. GAR DOOR OPERATING AND LOOKING MECHANISM. No. 584,240.Patented June 8,1897.

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\VILLlAM \VfRllODES, OF OMAHA, NEBRASKA.

CAR-DOOR OPERATING AND LOCKING MECHANISM.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 584,240, dated June 8,1897.

Application filed May 26, 1896. Serial No- 593,154. (No model.)

To all (uh-0112 (it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM W. RHODES, a citizen of the United States,residing at Omaha, in the county of Douglas and State of Nebraska, haveinvented new and useful Improvements in Car-Door Operating and LookingMechanism, of which the following; is a specification.

It is the object of my invention to provide an improved and simpleconstruction of cardoor operating and locking mechanism adapted forapplication to the usual sliding doors of freight'cars and. stock-carsand which shall be capable of securing a car-door whether in its closedor open position and permit a ready closing or opening of the door, asrequired.

The invention consists in features of construction and novelcombinations of the parts of a car-door and its operating and lockingmechanism, as hereinafter described and claimed.

In the annexed drawings, illustrating the invention, Figure 1 is a sideelevation of a portion of a car, showing the sliding door closed. Fig. 2is a vertical transverse section through the closed door. Fig. 3 is aver tical transverse section of the door as about to be opened orclosed. Fig. 4 is a perspective of the door operating and lockingmechanism separate from the car-door.

Referring to the drawings, the numeral 1 designates the usualdoor-openin g in the side 2 of a railway freight or stock car. To theupper portion of the car is secured a trackrail 3, of any suitable formor construction, which is extended horizontally above the door-openingand to a suitable distance beyond the same. Near the front and rearedges of the door-opening 1 there are secured to the side of the car thetwo vertical strips 4: and 5, that are adapted to serve as stops for thedoor 6 in its closed position. Below the door-opening 1 there aresecured to the car side the brackets 7, the upper ends of which areflanged outward and upward to engage the lower edge of the closed doorand retain it in place. A similar bracket 8 is secured to the outside ofthe car at a convenient distance from the door-opening to engage thelower edge of the door when opened, and in this opened position of thecar-door it is prevented from sliding back and forth with the motion ofthe car by means of a back-stop 9, fastened to the car-body.

To the top of the car-door 6, on its outer side, are secured hangers 10,in the eyes of which is journaled a cranked rock-shaft 11, that has itsends turned upward and then in ward toward each other to provide arms12, that are located above and parallel with the main portion of saidrock-shaft. These arms 12 are pivotally connected with slides 13, thatare adapted to engage with and move on the track-rail 3 for the purposeof supporting the sliding door (3 from its top and to permit itsnecessary movements in opening and closing. A guard or hood-plate 14: isalso pivotally mounted on the arms 12 at points between and adjacent tothe slides 13 in such manner as to retain the said arms 12 and slides 13in pivotal engagement with each other.

At its ends the hood-plate 14 is extended beyond the side edges of thedoor 6, and it occupies normally a vertical position outside or in frontof the rock-shaft 11, arms 12, and slides 13 to shield the same from theweather. It will be seen, too, that in connection with the overhangingcave of the car-top this hoodplate will serve to exclude rain and snowfrom access to the top of the car-door. Being mounted on the arms 12 ofthe rock-shaft 11, it is obvious that the hood-plate 14 will always movewith the car-door, and being thus always in front of the rock-shaft andslides it serves to conceal them from view and imparts a neat andfinished appearance to the door. Besides, by carrying this hoodplate onthe door it is always in position to protect the slides and rook-shaft,whet-her the car-door is open or closed.

The rock-shaft 11 is provided at a suitable point, preferably toward oneend, with a normally-depending crank-arm 15, to which is pivotallyattached the upper end of a verticall y-arranged connecting'rod 16, thathas its lower end pivotally connected with one end of a two-armed lever17, which is centrally fulcrumed at a convenient point on the cardoorand in such position as to operate in a plane parallel with the door. Tothe other end of the two-armed lever 17 is hinged a hasp 18, that isadapted and arranged to engage a staple 19 on the strip 4 when the doorposition.

.is closed and said lever 17 is in a horizontal Below the fulcrum of thelever 17 is a keeper 20 to engage and retain the hasp 18 when it isdisengaged from the staple l9 and turned downward. An inclined andsegmental guide 21 may be placed on the door 6, between the staple 19and keeper 20, to direct the hasp 18 in its movements. A handhold 22 maybe attached to the lower part of the car-door to assist in moving it toand from its opened and closed positions.

When the suspended and sliding door 6 is closed and the lever 17 is in ahorizontal position, the door will rest securely in its bed between thestops 4 and 5 and upon the flanged sill-brackets 7 ,that engage itslower edge. The hasp 18 may now be engaged with the staple 19, and anysuitable lock may then be applied. If desired, a seal-lock of any properconstruction can be employed. The closed and fastened door rests closelyagainst the side of the car, between the stops or strips 4 and 5, whichwill serve to exclude dirt, and the door will be held in such mannerthat it cannot be jolted out of place or become jammed in its bed bymovement of the car or by pressure of the load. Even should the floor ofthe car sag under an excessive load the car-door will not be affected,as its supports and fastenings are Wholly on the car side and soarranged that there can be no liability to jamming or binding of thedoor. Any pressure of freight against the inner side of the. door willonly serve to hold it more secure.

In order to open the car-door after removal or unfastening of the lock,the hasp 1S-will be disengaged from the staple 19 and then turned downalong the guide 21 and into engagement with the keeper 20, by whichmovement the two-armed lever 17 is turned on its fulcrum in such manneras to lift the rod 16 and crank-arm 15, thereby rocking the shaft. 11and consequently inclining the upper por-- tion of the door 6 outwardand lifting its lower edge from engagement with the flangedsillbrackets. By now grasping the handhold 225 the car-door may be swungoutward sufii-j ciently to clear the door stop or strip 5, the? pivotalconnection of the shaft-arms 12 and slides 13 readily permitting thismovement, 1 and being now entirely clear the door can be pushed to oneside along the track-rail 3, with l which the slides 13 are-engaged. Assoon as the door has passed the stop or strip 5 the hasp 18 should beswung upward onto the top of the guide 21, which movement will draw downthe rod 16 and crank-arm 15, so as to turn the rock-shaft 11 backwardand thereby permit the lower edge of the door to drop into engagementwith the flanged bracket 8, while the side edges of the door comebetween the that it cannot slide forward or back should the car be nowmoved. The door-operating mechanism thus provides for locking the doorin an open position as well as closed, so that the opened doors areprevented from jolting or sliding when moving empty cars.

To close the door 6, it is only necessary to draw down the hasp 18,thereby operating the rod 16 and cranked rock-shaft 11 in such directionas to slightly lift the door and incline its upper end outward, afterwhich, by means of the handhold 22, the door can be returned to itsformer position and be secured, as hereinbefore described.

It is obvious that the crank 15 and its lever connections can be locatednearer to the center line of the door if circumstances should rendersuch location desirable. The door and operating devices are readilyadapted to all the conditions of car service when in transit, eitherloaded or empty, and the arrangement of operating parts is so simplethat they are not likely to become ineffective.

A door of this construction, with its operating devices as described,affords all the advantages of a fiushly-closin g car-door without atrack-rail from which the door is slidingly suspended, door-stops, andflanged brackets to receive the lower door edge, of the slides engagedwith and adapted to be moved along the said track-rail, a rock-shaftmounted on the upper part of the door and provided with a crank-arm andwith upward-turned ends having horizontal arms in pivotal engagementwith said slides, a hood-plate or shield mounted on said horizontal armsand carried with the door to cover and conceal the rock-shaft andslides, a lever fulcrumed on the car-door to operate in a plane parallelwith the doorfront, a rod connecting said lever with the crank-arm ofthe said rock-shaft, and means for locking said lever, substantially asdescribed.

2. The combination with a sliding car-door, a track-rail from which thedoor is suspended, slides engaged with said track-rail, and a rock-shaftmounted on the door and having arms pivotally engaged with said slides,of a hood-plate carried with the door to cover and conceal said slidesand rock-shaft, and lever mechanism mounted 011 the door to operate saidrock-shaft, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

XVILLIAM WV. RHODES.

Vitnesses:

E. E. lVIUFFITT, W. I. SEYMOUR.

